Hallmarks Get Carded Challenge And Giveaway

Hallmark is working with a few bloggers on the Life is a Special Occasion Campaign as part of their Get Carded Challenge, which encourages all of us to push the “pause” button on the blur of daily life and think about the beauty of unplanned, perfectly imperfect moments we share with those who mean the most to us. Hallmark sent me a selection cards to give/mail out to my family in friends in order to connect non-electronically. So many of us are plugged in, that we forgot how nice it feels to receive and send a special hand written, I am thinking of you, note. We spend the time connected via twitter, email and IM, but when is the last time you sent a card just to say I love you or hello?

The Get Carded Challenge is a fun challenge designed to help you connect and re-connect with the special people in your lives “just because.” It’s Hallmark’s hope that, by taking the time to reach out to someone special through the Challenge, it will help reinforce the emotional connection you share.

Here is how it worked for me:

Grandma– I love my Grandma. She lives under 2 miles from me and has always been there to lend me a helping hand. She is the spunkiest, kindest, most fun lady ever. I wanted to hand secret deliver a drive by card to her. You know, drop it the mailbox and run… hee hee hee. I picked out a special card to her and had me and the boys sign it, saying we appreciate her in our life. I rolled by her house in the car, and…SHE CAUGHT ME! I threw the card in the box and kept going. She thought I was mailing a letter LOL. I had to call her and tell her to check her mailbox, and she thought I was crazy but touched.

Mom- I dropped hers off at her door, rang the bell, and ran to the car before she could come out. Yes, I was on a secret card fairy mission. I wanted to let her know how much she meant to me also; but the neat thing about this was, it reminded me how much she liked cards. She used to give them to me all the time growing up and it made me feel special. I wanted to make her feel special too! I have even given her another card, later, when my kids were sick to thank her for helping me. It meant a lot to me to have her come over when our house was contagious and I wanted her to know that. Sometimes a phone call isn’t enough to express how grateful you are.

Robyn-Robyn is a friend I have just met a year ago in Mamapalooza (well actually at the library) that helps me on my blog. She also lives right down the street, so I did a drive by! About a half hour later she called, and was also touched I took the time to tell her what she meant to me. Friends are hard to come by when you are older. I was really glad to have met Robyn and for her to be so close with kids my kids age on top of her fantastic personality, I wanted her to also know just how important she was in my life. It felt good to make someone else feel good. I think it is a practice everyone should do all the time. I have tried to make it a point to compliment and tell one person every day what they mean to me; and when it is through a card, it is a permanent reminder they can always return to.

Jakobi- My three-year-old son. He LOVES those Hallmark cards that make music when they open them. I knew he would love this card. I put it in our mailbox and we went to check the mail. I told him the card was for him, and he exclaimed, “For me?” “Oh my gosh!” Beaming ear to ear, he fingered the card opened and to his delight, when he opened it, “It’s a Perfect Day” sang out. Then he went around all day opening and closing and opening and closing and opening…Why did I do that?? He loved it!! Now It is in pieces from trying to figure out how it worked. It still does if you push the metal band up and down.

In summary, 4 very special people responded very well and were touched, uplifted and felt appreciated. I would say that was a good challenge.

** I also sent out two cards with no response, but I did not really expect one. Sometimes, it does not hurt to try!

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